Zatanna, pale-faced, was pinned to the ground. Mary walked up to her, drew a cut across her face with a sharp fingernail, then put the tip of her finger into her mouth and savored the taste of blood.
"This foolish girl fell for our scheme. She believed her uncle's lies, teleported directly to the family estate, and walked right into our trap."
Constantine's gaze fell on the inside of Zatanna's right forearm, where a blood-red rune sat. It was a control spell commonly used by vampires, and rage blazed within him.
He knew Zatanna's weak-willed relatives must have betrayed her. They had surely told the vampires about Zatanna's weakness as well—her reverse-speech magic required both words and gestures. Once she could no longer chant aloud, she had no means of resistance.
The vampires had sealed her voice with a rune, which was why they had been able to capture her. Constantine took a deep breath and looked at Mary. "What exactly do you want?"
"Mr. Constantine, I've heard so much about you." Mary stepped forward again, but Bennett stepped out and shouted sternly, "Mary, let that little girl go! Our grudge should not involve innocents!"
Mary sneered. She cast a glance at Bennett with her blood-red eyes, then ignored him and stared at Constantine. "I did go looking for my foolish husband before, but I was looking for him because I wanted to find you. He knew where you were, John Constantine."
"Well, that's unusual." Constantine looked at her coldly, pulled a cigarette from his pocket, put it between his lips, and lit it. After exhaling a plume of smoke, he said, "Everyone else avoids me like the plague, yet you came looking for me. Now that you've found me, tell me—what do you want?"
"This little girl is very